<h2>XIX.</h2>
<p>"Trucks almost here. Y'know what
to do?" Naxa asked.</p>
<p>Jason nodded, and looked again
at the dead man. Some beast had torn
his arm off and he had bled to death.
The severed arm had been tied into
the shirt sleeve, so from a distance
it looked normal. Seen close up this
limp arm, plus the white skin and
shocked expression on the face, gave
Jason an unhappy sensation. He liked
to see his corpses safely buried. However
he could understand its importance
today.</p>
<p>"Here they're. Wait until his
back's turned," Naxa whispered.</p>
<p>The armored truck had three powered
trailers in tow this time. The
train ground up the rock slope and
whined to a stop. Krannon climbed
out of the cab and looked carefully
around before opening up the trailers.
He had a lift robot along to help
him with the loading.</p>
<p>"Now!" Naxa hissed.</p>
<p>Jason burst into the clearing, running,
shouting Krannon's name. There
was a crackling behind him as two
of the hidden men hurled the corpse
through the foliage after him. He
turned and fired without stopping,
setting the thing afire in midair.</p>
<p>There was the crack of another
gun as Krannon fired, his shot jarred
the twice-dead corpse before it hit the
ground. Then he was lying prone,
firing into the trees behind the running
Jason.</p>
<p>Just as Jason reached the truck
there was a whirring in the air and
hot pain ripped into his back, throwing
him to the ground. He looked
around as Krannon dragged him
through the door, and saw the metal
shaft of a crossbow bolt sticking out
of his shoulder.</p>
<p>"Lucky," the Pyrran said. "An
inch lower would have got your
heart. I warned you about those grubbers.
You're lucky to get off with
only this." He lay next to the door
and snapped shots into the now quiet
wood.</p>
<p>Taking out the bolt hurt much
more than it had going in. Jason
cursed the pain as Krannon put on
a dressing, and admired the singleness
of purpose of the people who
had shot him. They had risked his
life to make his escape look real.
And also risked the chance that he
might turn against them after being
shot. They did a job completely and
thoroughly and he cursed them for
their efficiency.</p>
<p>Krannon climbed warily out of the
truck, after Jason was bandaged. Finishing
the loading quickly, he started
the train of trailers back towards the
city. Jason had an anti-pain shot and
dozed off as soon as they started.</p>
<hr />
<p>While he slept, Krannon must
have radioed ahead, because Kerk
was waiting when they arrived. As
soon as the truck entered the perimeter
he threw open the door and
dragged Jason out. The bandage pulled
and Jason felt the wound tear
open. He ground his teeth together;
Kerk would not have the satisfaction
of hearing him cry out.</p>
<p>"I told you to stay in the buildings
until the ship left. Why did you
leave? Why did you go outside? You
talked to the grubbers—didn't you?"
With each question he shook Jason
again.</p>
<p>"I didn't talk to—anyone." Jason
managed to get the words out. "They
tried to take me, I shot two—hid out
until the trucks came back."</p>
<p>"Got another one then," Krannon
said. "I saw it. Good shooting. Think
I got some, too. Let him go Kerk,
they shot him in the back before he
could reach the truck."</p>
<p><i>That's enough explanations</i>, Jason
thought to himself. <i>Don't overdo it.
Let him make up his mind later.
Now's the time to change the subject.
There's one thing that will get
his mind off the grubbers.</i></p>
<p>"I've been fighting your war for
you Kerk, while you stayed safely inside
the perimeter." Jason leaned
back against the side of the truck as
the other loosened his grip. "I've
found out what your battle with this
planet is really about—and how you
can win it. Now let me sit down and
I'll tell you."</p>
<p>More Pyrrans had come up while
they talked. None of them moved
now. Like Kerk, they stood frozen,
looking at Jason. When Kerk talked,
he spoke for all of them.</p>
<p>"<i>What do you mean?</i>"</p>
<p>"Just what I said. Pyrrus is fighting
you—actively and consciously.
Get far enough out from this city
and you can feel the waves of hatred
that are directed at it. No, that's
wrong—you can't because you've
grown up with it. But I can, and so
could anyone else with any sort of
psi sensitivity. There is a message of
war being beamed against you constantly.
The life forms of this planet
are psi-sensitive, and respond to that
order. They attack and change and
mutate for your destruction. And
they'll keep on doing so until you
are all dead. Unless you can stop the
war."</p>
<p>"How?" Kerk snapped the word
and every face echoed the question.</p>
<p>"By finding whoever or whatever
is sending that message. The life
forms that attack you have no reasoning
intelligence. They are being
ordered to do so. I think I know how
to find the source of these orders.
After that it will be a matter of getting
across a message, asking for a
truce and an eventual end to all hostilities."</p>
<p>A dead silence followed his words
as the Pyrrans tried to comprehend
the ideas. Kerk moved first, waving
them all away.</p>
<p>"Go back to your work. This is my
responsibility and I'll take care of it.
As soon as I find out what truth
there is here—if any—I'll make a
complete report." The people drifted
away silently, looking back as they
went.</p>
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